Steve Mokone

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Steve Mokone
Personal information
Full name	Stephen Madi Mokone
Date of birth	March 23, 1932 (1932-03-23) (age 76)
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa
Playing position	Striker
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1955-1958 1958-1959 1959-1960 1959-1960 1960-	Coventry Heracles FC Barcelona Marseille (loan) Torino	? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?)
National team
	South Africa
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Steve 'Kalamazoo' Mokone OIG, nicknamed The Black Meteor (born 23 March 1932 in Johannesburg^[1]) is a former South African football player who was the first black player to play in a professional European league. ^[2]

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 After football 4 References

[edit] Biography

Mokone was born in Doornfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg, but his family moved to Sophiatown before settling in Kilnerton in Pretoria. ^[3]

[edit] Career

Mokone attracted much attention in his native South Africa, representing his country at the age of just 16. ^[4] He was close to signing for Newcastle United F.C. but for the intervention of his father, who wished him to continue his studies.

Mokone began his career proper in 1955 with Coventry City, before signing for Heracles Almelo in 1958. A year later he was signed by FC Barcelona, but because they had filled their quota of foreign players, he was loaned to Marseille. He later played for Torino, before finishing his career in Australia and Canada.

[edit] After football

In 1964 he enrolled at Rutgers University. ^[5] In 1977 Mokone was arrested and beaten up by police. ^[6] In 1996 he founded the Kalamazoo South African Foundation. ^[7] In 2000, a movie was produced based on the life of Mokone, entitled The Black Meteor. ^[8]

[edit] References